The present invention generally relates to carton structures which are convertible from a familiar distribution carton configuration to one or more configurations of a carry-out tray. An inspection approval legend is positioned on a component of the carton which must be removed during modification thereof from its distribution carton configuration to any of its carry-out tray configurations. It is important to ensure removal of the inspection approval legend. While it must be present to distribute the goods therewithin when it is used as a distribution carton, proper use of the carton as a carry-out tray requires modification of the carton so as to remove the inspection approval legend, which is not necessarily germane to the items within the carton when it is in a carry-out tray configuration.
In many retail sales operations which perform some assembly tasks on commodities in order to provide retail customers with finished goods, cartons that are used to package components prior to assembly into the finished goods will be saved and used as a tray for assisting in transporting groupings of finished goods by the customer. This often occurs, for example, in retail food outlets wherein packages for items such as bread, buns, meats, vegetable products and the like are reused as transport trays for sandwiches, drinks and the like. In a typical situation, these packaging containers are not especially well suited for use as finished product transport trays. Many of them are made of rather thin stock or they are not particularly well configured for securely holding items which are precarious to balance. At times, features are incorporated into cartons in an attempt to render them more suitable for use as transport trays for finished goods.
Under circumstances such as these, it has been observed that distribution packaging which is made of heavier weight paperboard materials would provide some added stability when used as a transport tray, even for diverse goods such as sandwiches and drinks in disposable cups and the like. Generally speaking, at least when it comes to prepared food operations, these heavier weight paperboard containers are supplied by wholesalers of government inspected products such as meats and other processed or raw food products that are inspected and subjected to approval certification, which certification is stamped, printed or otherwise substantially permanently attached at an obvious location on the exterior of the carton. That inspection certification or the like is specific to some attribute of the bulk product which is packaged in wholesale quantities and received by the retail establishment. Because of this, packages of this type are not truly suitable for reuse as a transport tray which provides packaging for items that have not in fact been inspected and approved or have been handled and repackaged since inspection and approval. Accordingly, there is typically a valid concern which is founded in proper use of inspection and approval legend or indicia which discourages reuse of certain cartons that otherwise have solid potential for profitable reuse, including multiple reuses when the customer returns the tray to the retailer. Instead, these cartons are discarded and often other cartons specially designed as transport trays are used in place thereof, thereby creating additional waste products which must be handled for proper disposal or the like.
With this general background in mind, it can be seen that certain advantages are to be gained by providing some means by which the heavier weight paperboard bulk goods cartons can be easily and efficiently transformed into stable carry-out trays that can handle diverse finished or prepared goods such as hot or cold sandwiches or other food items and hot or cold drinks and the like. Included are appropriate means by which inspection indicia such as government agency approval legends or stampings and the like must be removed from the packaging in order to fully transform same into a carry-out tray device.
In summary, the bulk goods distribution carton and blank according to the present invention are convertible into a carry-out tray having one or more carry-out configurations which, when properly implemented, require the person converting same from a distribution carton to a carry-out tray to remove an inspection and/or approval seal or the like which is otherwise prominently displayed on the outside surface when the carton is in its bulk goods distribution configuration. Preferably, the means for conversion of the distribution carton into the carry-out tray provides the converter with the option of forming multiple-function drink supporting structures.
It is accordingly a general object of the present invention to provide an improved convertible paperboard carton and blank therefor.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved convertible carton and blank therefor which allow conversion from a bulk goods distribution carton to a carry-out tray.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide an improved bulk goods distribution carton and blank therefor having an arrangement whereby indicia such as government inspection seals must be removed from the distribution carton when it is converted to a carry-out tray.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be clearly understood through a consideration of the following detailed description.